Jerk Chicken - Slow Cooker Version

There are 2 kitchenwares that I cannot live without. First and foremost, a slow-cooker. The later is a pressure cooker. These cookwares are so handy and they save me time in the kitchen. If you have a slow cooker and think it's hidden somewhere collecting dust in your basement or attic...well, it's time for you to take it out! 

Ever imagine what would happen if you throw in chicken marinated in jerk seasoning in a slow cooker? Well, I actually did couple of days ago! I let the chicken with its marinade simmer in a slow cooker for 4 hours and the results: moist, juicy and fall-off-the-bone meat that simply melts in your mouth. Furthermore, the sauce is full of robust flavours: a perfect balance of thyme and Jamaican all spice.  I serve the chicken with  our Jamaican Style Rice N' Peas. For left over chicken, I simply shred the meat and make into a jerk chicken sandwich with cabbage coleslaw for lunch. Perfect for a cold weather lunch that certainly warms up your tummy! 

Check out the link for our Jerk Chicken recipe.

Paneer and Vegetable Rice

Rice is a revered grain in all of Asia. In India it is referred to as “Prana”- The breath of life - and is often the first solid food given to a baby. It features prominently at Hindu weddings, symbolizing wealth, abundance, fertility and prosperity; puffed rice is the last food put into the mouth of a deceased person, believed to feed the soul on its journey. This staple plays a role in religious ceremonies and celebrations, and sustains, employs and provides a source of trade for much of Asia. China and India are two of the largest producers and consumers of rice in the world. Cultivated for centuries, today, rice is grown on every continent except Antarctica.

The versatility of this modest grain demands respect; it graces the tables of the wealthy as well as humble homes too poor to afford much else. Rice preparations are diverse enough to satisfy breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner options. Few grains can boast being made into food (risotto, fried rice), beverages (rice wine, rice milk), and clothing. This grass cereal contains complex carbohydrates, no fat or sodium and is a source of protein. It is gluten free, easy to cook and provides a delicate, nutritious option for infants or people with digestive disorders. Of the brown and white varieties, the former is more nutrient dense with a higher vitamin, mineral and fibre content, while the latter is relatively inexpensive and can be stored indefinitely.

Rice features prominently in Asian cuisine. There are several varieties of rice, this recipe uses the basmati variety. My mother says, “Rice grains should be long and graceful, standing close like siblings, but never stuck together, and the trick is in pre-soaking the rice.” 

Skill Level: Easy

Serves: 4 -6

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 packet of paneer (available at most grocery stores) 
• 2 cups of boiling water with 1-2 tsp of salt to soak paneer 
• 4-5 Tbsp of cooking oil to fry paneer
• 20 green beans cut into small pieces
• 1 large red onion sliced
• 1 large carrot cut into small cubes
• 1 large red bell pepper cut into small pieces
• 1/2 a cup of frozen corn
• 2 Tbsp cooking oil to saute vegetables
• 2 cups of basmati rice
• 1 Tbsp of ghee (clarified butter) substitute w/ 1/2 Tbsp butter and 1 Tbsp oil
• 2 cups of boiling water
• salt to taste

METHOD:

Mixed vegetables with paneer

1. Cut all the vegetables into similar sized pieces
2. Add oil to a skillet and sauté onions until golden, add carrots and when cooked, add beans, corn and lastly the red pepper. Set aside
3. Cut paneer into cubes, add it to a bowl of salted boiling water let it stand for 15 minutes. (this step can be omitted if you are trying to reduce salt) 
4. Add oil to a pan and fry the paneer until the edges turn golden, drain with a slotted spoon and add it to the mixed vegetables. Season to taste

Rice

1. Drain all the water from the rice, heat a pan (with a well fitting lid), add ghee and   rice until all the grains are coated with oil. Add salt to taste
2. Add 2 cups of boiling water 
3. Cover, set heat to medium and allow to cook for 20-25 minutes 
4. Allow the rice to cool slightly 
5. In a large skillet add the rice and the mixed vegetables with paneer and mix together taking care not to break the grains of rice

Steamed Tofu with Mushrooms

This is an excellent vegetarian dish to make if you want a light meal; packed with bold flavours from ginger and sesame oil. It's easy to make and requires no less than 15 minutes cooking time. I like to serve it on a bed of brown rice and stir fry bok-choy for a good crunch. In this recipe, I use dried shitake mushrooms and black wood ear fungus. If you have never cooked with wood ear fungus, you will love it! It has woody flavour and cruncy texture. It's commonly used in Asian cooking such as salads, stir fries and soups. I usually use silken tofu for steaming as it has soft and velvety texture. Happy Steaming!

Skill Level: Easy

Serves: 4 

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 dried shitake mushrooms
• 1 pack (454 g) silken tofu
• 1 clove garlic, finely minced
• 1 thumb sized ginger
• 1 green onion
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 2 tsp sesame oil
 

METHOD: 

1. Soak dried shitake mushrooms and black wood ear fungus in hot boiling water for 20 minutes. Once soft, slice shitake thinly and cut the fungus into bite-sized pieces
2. Slice ginger into thin julienne strips and slice green onions diagonally 
3. Meanwhile, cut the tofu into desired thickness and place into heat-proof dishware
4. In a bowl, mix soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, shitake and wood ear fungus together 
5. Layer the tofu with seasoned mushrooms with its sauce, ginger, chopped garlic and green onions
6. Steam for 10 minutes 

Note: If you do not have a steamer, you can place the tofu in a baking tray, covered with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degree Fahrenheit for 10 to 15 minutes.

Chaat

Chaat - is a savoury snack that is quite popular in India. Now first things first - how is it 
pronounced ? Not like "chat" as in "I had a serious chat with my sister". It is more like saying the word "chart"without rolling the "r". The intention is certainly not to turn you off from the get go with an instruction in pronunciation. However you choose to say Chaat - this is an easy to make snack that may look intimidating when you see the picture above so allow me to introduce the main players - starting with the bowl with chopped tomatoes and moving clockwise. Coriander mint chutney, packaged sev (available at Indian, stores and in the Ethnic section of most grocery stores, chopped cucumber, chopped coriander, tamarind chutney, boiled potatoes and in the centre is boiled green peas.

Skill Level: Easy
Serves: 4 - 6

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 English cucumber seeded, peeled and cubed 

• 2 Roma tomatoes seeded and cubed 

• 4 medium white potatoes, boiled and cubed

• 1/2 a bunch of coriander leaves washed and cut

• 1 cup of dried green peas, soaked overnight and boiled until soft 
• 1 bag of sev (available at Indian stores) Substitute w/ chinese fried noodles

• see below for chutney ingredients and recipes

Mint Coriander Chutney :

• 1 good sized bunch of coriander leaves (2 if the bunch is small)
• 1/2 cup chopped mint leaves
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 green chilies chopped
• 1/2 cup unsweetened  dessicated coconut flakes 
• 1/2 tsp salt

METHOD:

1. Put all mint coriander chutney ingredients into a blender and grind until well mixed
2. This chutney can be made ahead and frozen for a month or refrigerated for up to a week
3. When using this chutney for Chaat, thin it a little by adding 2 Tbsp of plain, unflavoured yogurt. Do not add yogurt to the whole chutney if you plan to freeze the remaining

Tamarind Chutney :

• 1 cup of tamarind (available at Indian stores)  
• 2 cup of boiling water 
• 2 cups of sugar
• 1 tbsp salt 
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp black salt (available at Indian stores) 
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp ginger powder
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

METHOD:

1. Put tamarind into a large bowl. Pour boiling water into the bowl. Allow it to stand for 5-10 minutes 
2. Mash with a potato masher to get the pulp out. You should have a thick sludge that has the consistency of crushed tomatoes Please note that the tamarind has seeds
3. Strain the mixture,then add sugar and all other ingredients
4. Mix well
5. Check and adjust seasoning
6. This chutney can be refrigerated for up to one month and can be used as a dipping sauce 

TO ASEMBLE THE CHAAT:

1. This is the fun part. Arrange the ingredients in small bowls and each person can make their own This is how I did it
2. Put the green peas at the bottom, add some potatoes, then cucumber, tomatoes, coriander, mint chutney and sev. Drizzle with tamarind chutney and enjoy!

Potato Curry

Potato Bhaji is a breakfast dish that is eaten most often with puri. Puris are deep fried rounds of dough that puff up golden and beautiful and then collapse. My mum would fry up these goodies and my siblings and I would eat then almost as fast as she could roll them out and fry them. Today my nieces do the same when my sister makes puri and bhaji. My parents are visiting and mum made this for breakfast this morning. Puri and potato curry is a personal favourite. Puris can also be eaten with kala channa which is dark chickpeas but that is a recipe for another day.

This recipe is for the potato curry, puri recipe to follow.

This recipe has a couple of ingredients that may be new to some readers.

THE FOUR PICTURES BELOW ARE COURTESY OF WIKIPEDIA. 

Urad Dal, also called black gram is a lentil. When it's black husk is removed and the lentil is split it looks like this. It is used to make many dishes but along with mustard and cumin seeds it is also used to temper vegetables.

Dried red chillies and curry leaves shown below are ingredients used when tempering vegetables, usually added to hot oil when onions or mustard seeds are added. Dried red chillies are 

not used to increase pungency, merely to flavour the finished dish.

                                                                                                                             

Skill Level: Easy

Serves: 4 - 6

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 medium sized white potatoes washed peeled and cubed
• 1 medium sized onion sliced 
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• 1/4 tsp mustard seeds
• 2 small green chilies cut into small pieces
• 1 Tbsp chopped ginger  
• 2 cups of water
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 T cooking oil
• 1 tsp black mustard seeds
• 1 tsp urad dal
• 10 curry leaves
• 3 dried red chilies

METHOD:

1. Wash potatoes and cut into cubes
2. Add to a pot water, potatoes, turmeric, salt, ginger and green chilies
3. Boil until soft but not mushy. Set aside
4. Heat a saucepan and add cooking oil, when it is hot add dried red chilies and mustard seeds. Mustard seeds will pop, then add curry leaves and finally the urad dal.   This should be done on medium high heat and avoid burning the tempering ingredients to prevent a bitter flavour to the curry
5. Pour the boiled potato mixture into the tempered ingredients, garnish and serve hot

Stacked Eggplant with Feta Cheese

Eggplant, as I have previously mentioned, is a family favourite, so I was happy to try out a new recipe that was an instant hit. This works well as an appetizer as you can make the eggplant slices ahead of time and assemble the rest of the ingredients just before serving. Enjoy! 

Skill Level: Easy

Serves: 4 - 6

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 small eggplant that can be cut into  1 inch slices
• 1 Tbsp whole wheat flour
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 cup cooking oil ( I used sunflower oil)
• 1 medium onion sliced
• 1  cup zucchini cubed
• 1 cup cremini mushrooms sliced
• 1/4 cup feta cheese grated
• 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes cut into half 
• 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
• 1/4 tsp dried rubbed oregano
• 2 Tbsp chopped walnuts  

METHOD:

1. Preheat the oven to 500 F
2. Season the flour with cayenne and salt and toss eggplant in the mixture and coat both sides
3. Heat a 2 Tbsp oil and add the eggplant slices and saute eggplant for 3 minutes per side adding more oil as necessary
4. Set the eggplant aside on a parchment paper lined tray
5. Heat a tablespoon of oil and saute the onions, mushrooms and zucchini 
6. Season with salt and pepper. Turn off heat and add tomatoes
7. Add breadcrumbs and oregano. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed
8. Divide the vegetable mixture evenly on top of the eggplant slices, sprinkle walnuts and feta over top 
9. Bake for 5 minutes before serving

Cranberry Lentil Almond Rice

Here is a side I often serve with baked chicken or fish. It is easy to make and on the day you decide to go meatless, it makes for a perfect lunch. Cranberries are a very versatile ingredient and are harvested from September to November which is likely why this fall fruit features in holiday dinners from Thanksgiving to Christmas. I buy bags of it and freeze it; they are perfect to throw into a batch of muffins or my zucchini cranberry bread with the added convenience of using without thawing. In this dish, it partners perfectly with lentils, almonds and rice. For this recipe, I used parboiled rice but you can use any rice you have on hand (the cooking instructions will differ accordingly). Try this with brown rice for extra fibre. 

Skill Level: Easy

Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup of parboiled rice cooked in 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 cups of boiling water
• 1 medium onion sliced
• 1/2  cup dried cranberries 
• 1/2 cup brown lentils soaked for 1 hour and boiled till soft but not mushy
• 1/4 cup of slivered almonds 
• 2 Tbsp live oil (not virgin or extra virgin)
• 1 vegetable bouillon cube 

 METHOD:

1. Wash and cook rice for 20 minutes in an uncovered pot. Allow to cool
2. Saute onions until transparent, add the vegetable bouillon cube
3. Add the lentils and mix well
4. Turn off the heat and add the cooled rice and mix 
5. Sprinkle the cranberries and slivered almonds until combined
6. Season if necessary